Hot folders and sync.
Both live under Automation. A hot folder watches one folder and sends each file once it has finished arriving. A sync job keeps a folder here copied to a folder somewhere else, on a schedule.
Free mode runs one hot folder or sync job in total. A license allows as many as the plan includes. In Free mode, hot folders and sync jobs pause and start again when a license is loaded. Nothing already stored is deleted because of that pause.
Destinations
A destination is a place files can go: another Farwing server, an FTP or FTPS server, an SFTP server, or a cloud bucket. A sync job copies to that place. Add one under Destinations, then choose it from a hot folder or a sync job. Test a destination before you rely on it. A destination that is still used by a hot folder, a sync job, or an event rule cannot be deleted until those are changed.
To send to another Farwing server, pair with it under Server links. The other administrator makes a pairing code. You enter that code and the other server’s address, then confirm the identity code matches what they read to you. If it does not match, stop and call them.
An incoming link chooses which folders the other server may use. Can read lets their sync jobs list and compare those folders. Can write lets a hot folder deliver files. Can delete stays off unless their sync jobs should be allowed to remove files here.
Hot folders
Add a hot folder with a name, the storage and folder to watch, and a destination. Leave the folder blank to watch the whole storage location. Sub-folders are included. Farwing looks about every 30 seconds.
A file is sent only after it has stopped changing for the number of seconds you set, so a copy that is still being written is left alone.
Once the destination confirms the file is stored, you can:
- Keep the file where it is. This is the default, and nothing can be lost.
- Move it into a sent folder.
- Delete it from the watched folder. You confirm that before it is saved.
Moving or deleting happens only after the destination confirms the file is stored. Deleting the hot folder stops the watch. Files already in the folder are not touched.
Sync jobs
A sync job compares a folder on this server with a folder at a destination and copies what is new or changed. It never changes the files here. Sub-folders are included.
A quick check compares size and the time a file was last changed. A full check also compares the file contents. If a file at the destination was changed there, you can keep their copy or replace it with yours.
Removing files at the destination is off until three things are true: you have previewed the job with these settings, the destination allows removing, and you have confirmed that files removed here will be removed there. A preview copies nothing.
Every run that removes files has a safety stop. It cannot be switched off. The run stops before removing more than the percent or the number of files you set. If the source looks empty, Farwing copies what it can still read and removes nothing.
Choose how often it runs: every hour, every day, every week, or only when you ask. Run now starts a copy without waiting. Preview run shows what would change. After a safety stop, review the report before you allow one more run. Deleting the job stops future copies. Files already copied stay where they are.
When a file should trigger something else
A hot folder and a sync job move files. To run a command, call a webhook or send a message when files arrive, use event rules. A rule can run a tool you added to the image; see Adding tools.